


A Crazy Adventure In An Attempt To Bring Justice To the World (Or At Least To Luke Garroway's Life)

by tigerlily18



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, M/M, Past Magnus Bane/Camille Belcourt, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-12 00:18:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11725581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerlily18/pseuds/tigerlily18
Summary: Magnus and Alec meet at a high-class party. From that moment on, their lives will be intertwined in an attempt to bring some justice to the world (or at least to Luke Garroway's life).





	1. Chapter 1

Alec was not the most adamant of parties, but he never really seemed to mind the ones that their parents held at their house, mostly because they always had some benefits for the company so he could always divert the conversation towards more business-related topics and steer away from his personal life. The one thing he couldn't stand about those parties though, was how his parents always found a way to forget they didn't live in the Middle Ages, and so it was no longer appropriate to go out of their ways to find him a suitable, rich and influential person, like him, to get married to.

At first, he didn't really notice; his parents would just introduce him to women. He would talk to them, some even befriend but he never really had much interest beside that so he didn't really see what his parents were getting at. One day there was talks of marriage: everything clicked inside his mind and so he decided that that was as good of an awkward moment as any other to come out to his parents. It didn't go exactly as Alec had planned but at least his parents had stopped so it had been worth it. Or at least that was what Alec had thought. Apparently, his parents had thought that his main problem with the whole issue was that they were women so they decided to start and introduce him to gay man. How they knew they were gay, Alec had no idea and he preferred to not think about it too much. This time he didn't say anything; and it really wasn't that they weren't handsome or smart, and as much as he could feel some level of attraction to some of them, the fact that it was all a scheme organized by his parents was enough of a turn off for him to decline everything, just on principle.

"Why don't you just pick one and marry him?" had said Jace.

"Easy for you to say, since you're not the one who's being used like bait to attract good business".

"Well, that's because I'm not a Lightwood. At least legally. Nor do I work for the firm".

"What about the last one? He was nice and cute, maybe you could go out on a date?" had said Izzy.

"I've told you, he could be the perfect son of Adonis and Mother Theresa, I'm not going to be married off by my parents. You wouldn't do it either".

"Fair enough, but I would at least fool around with some of them".

"What do you think happened with the bowtie guy?" had asked Jace suggestively.

"Really, the bowtie guy, Alec" she had said, disappointed.

"I don't know what you're talking about" he had said blushing, ending the conversation there.

Suffice to say he was getting tired of the whole thing. So, it was time to do something about it.

He looked one last time into the rear-view mirror to check his appearance. He gave the keys to the valley and walked into what had been his childhood home. He quickly spotted Jace and Izzy, who was accompanied by Meliorn despite all of the times that Mom and Dad had showed their disapproval. Most people were still arriving, but there was already enough people that the chatter over powered the smooth music that was playing in the background. He grabbed a glass of champagne and joined them.

"So, ready for another prince charming to try and sweep you of your feet?" teased Jace.

"You know Alec, it would be easier for your parents to leave you alone if you had an actual boyfriend" suggested Meliorn.

"That would require him to spend less than twelve hours at the office and talk about something that isn't work related" said Izzy. "This parties are as much fun as he gets."

Alec shrugged off Izzy's comment and decided to focus on Meliorn's suggestion.

"That could be a good idea" he said, pointing towards Meliorn. Maybe it didn't even need to be anything too serious. Just something that would show them that he wasn’t interested in their help.

"Well, you should hurry then. Soon they'll be here with their next pick" said Jace.

"It's not that easy. I can't just walk to a guy and start flirting with him".

"Why not? I do that with girls all the time" said Jace.

"Because you can safely assume that they're straight" deadpanned Izzy.

"Are you sure you don't want Mom and Dad's help? They do the boring part of figuring out if they're gay or not and you just have to worry about the fun part" said Jace, in a joking tone.

Alec rolled his eyes.

He looked around, familiar faces lit by yellow warm light that provided an intimate setting, very different from the usual harsh white light from the office. He decided to walk around the party and talk with some people; it would be much easier to evaluate his options this way. He started conversation with some people, but most of it stayed in the business realm, and as much as he had an extra layer of motivation, he wasn't exactly the type to just walk to some stranger and start flirting, so he tried to play it safe, keep in circles that included people that he already knew. At least his parents hadn't mentioned anyone yet.

He was starting to regret following Meliorn's suggestion, seeing that it wasn't being very fruitful, when Izzy locked her arm in his and dragged him away from a boring conversation.

"Did you see who just walked in?" she asked, her tone lowered slightly.

"No. Who?"

She spun them around and while she grabbed an appetizer, her hand motioned to their right in a graceful gesture. Alec followed her movements and his eyes landed on a tall handsome Asian man across the room that had probably just arrived. It would have been hard to miss him even if Izzy hadn't pointed towards him. From his colourful clothes to just the way he moved and held himself, a straight posture contrasted by graceful movements and an inviting expression, his whole presence demanded to be noticed.

"His name is Magnus Bane" said Izzy with a smile on her lips, completely aware of what was going through Alec's mind.

"The Magnus Bane?" asked Alec, in surprise.

The man had been the topic of conversation more than once amongst his parents. Alec had never met him, so he completely disregarded his parents’ opinion of him, but he knew that they weren't much different from what most people probably thought. After all, it was always hard to be a self-made man surrounded mostly by people that had followed in their parents’ footsteps (which not only included people from Alec's generation, but also from his parents' too). It showed a type of resilience and determination that most of the people in this room had never had to have and when it came from a man that didn't seem afraid to show it, the rest of them couldn't help but feel threatened by it. Alec mostly thought it was hot as hell.

"Yup. If you want someone that would tell mom and dad that you're not interested in their little arrangements, I'm pretty sure that seeing you with him would send just the right message. Not to speak of the fact that he's super handsome".

"And you know that he's..."

"Seriously, Alec?" she said with an expression of disbelief. "Everyone knows that he's bisexual. He doesn't really try to hide it either" she shrugged. "You know, you should think about joining in gossip more often. You can learn some stuff" she said suggestively.

Alec rolled his eyes and changed the conversation topic back to what mattered. The longer he stood there the more nervous he was going to get.

"Should I go talk to him? What should I say?"

"Relax" she said, failing to hide her giggling. "I'm pretty sure it's not the first time you approach someone like that".

"It's been a while..." he muttered trying not to think too much about it.

"Mom and Dad have clearly spoiled you by getting you dates. Now grab two flutes and go charm him" she said, pushing him slightly in Magnus’ general direction.

Alec took a deep breath and tried to maintain a calm demeanour. He spotted a waiter holding a tray filled with flutes and grabbed two. He took a bit longer to get to Magnus, just so he could time it perfectly with the departure of the two guest that were talking to him. He stopped right beside him and extended one of the flutes in his direction.

"Lovely party, don't you think?" he asked showing a small smile and trying not to wonder too much if it had sounded as awkward as he felt.

If it had, however, Magnus didn't show it. He took a small look at the flute and then at the man that was holding it and took it, sporting his signature charming smile.

"Well, if it isn't the gifted heir. I must say, I was starting to find it a little weird that none of the hosts would come here and receive me, especially since this is the first time that I've been invited to such an event" he took a sip of the champagne and then continued. "I’m assuming you know who I am" he said, phrasing it almost like a question.

Alec was slightly taken aback by the recognition, although there was really no reason to be. He cursed at his parents in his mind for being so unthoughtful but tried not to think too much of it, secretly glad that it provided a topic of conversation.

"Of course I do. You’re a great client for the firm and your success is really admirable" he added.

"Oh, you flatter me, Mr. Lightwood" he said, touching his arm for just a second, but Alec knew that he wasn't going to be swayed just by those words.

"Please, call me Alec. I'm not exactly the host and I've never really had much of a touch for parties. But I hope I'm good enough for you" added Alec.

"Oh, Alec, you're more than enough" he said suggestively, eyeing him up and down and Alec couldn't help a blush to spread in his cheeks. "And I speak as someone who has one of the best touches for parties".

"You'll have to invite me to one of those parties then" he said, suddenly feeling more confident, the multiple glasses of champagne starting to show their effect.

Magnus looked slightly taken aback.

"What?" asked Alec.

"I probably shouldn't say this" murmured Magnus, getting closer to Alec as if they were sharing a secret, "but the rumours have told me that you're not really the party-type".

"Than what type am I?" he asked, and maybe it was the proximity or the champagne, but Alec felt warmth spreading under his skin.

"The type that works hard and has no fun" he deadpanned, but was somehow still able to keep the seductive tone in his voice.

Alec laughed a little, and if he wasn't so entranced he would have probably worried a little more about the veracity of said rumours.

"I must admit that I am more that type" he said, turning to look Magnus in the eyes. "But I think that parties are all about company, and if you're there..."

"Alec, there you are, we've been looking for you" Alec heard his mother's voice and it had never felt more like a bucket of cold water. He was quickly filled with dread but he tried to remain in the same position in hopes that it would have some effect on her, but Magnus straighten up putting some distance between the two of them. He didn't want to turn around, afraid to see who was with her, but he didn't have to. Soon enough, she came into his field of vision accompanied by a young-looking man that probably still had his ID asked for before entering a club. He recoiled a little bit, getting closer to Magnus unconsciously, which he seemed to find amusing, hiding his smile behind the glass of champagne.

"This is Brian Cromwell you probably remember him from Mrs. Cromwell birthday party..."

"Mom" he cut, moving his head slightly to the side to make her aware of Magnus presence.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Mr. Bane" she said, forcing her fake smile into her lips. "Since you came so late we didn't see you, but I'm sure Alec has made the honours. Perhaps I could show you around, let Alec and Brian talk a little."

Alec looked towards Magnus in an attempt to have him stayed.

"Oh, I would love that Mrs. Lightwood" he said, smiling towards Alec.

Somehow, he had been able to read the whole situation and Alec felt absolutely betrayed that he wasn't going to try and rescue him, but he was getting annoyingly used to this type of situation.

Maryse and Magnus left, and Alec made enough small talk to be polite, but didn't go out of his way to get to know him better.

\----

As soon as Magnus left Alec, Maryse's smiles diminished considerably, and "showing him around" was shortened by directing him towards a small circle of people when she suddenly realised that there were some important matters that she had to attend to.

Truly, the party was dull, and if it wasn't for Catarina convincing him that not going the first time that the Lightwoods had invited him to one of their special parties was just bad for business, he would have stayed home.

"I already know too much about the Lightwoods. That's what gossip is for. I don't need to go to their stupid party" he had said.

Give them the benefit of the doubt. You might be surprised" she had said.

And like most times, she was right; he had indeed been surprised. If anyone had told him that he was going to be flirted at by Alec Lightwood, he would have laughed in their face and said "maybe, but only if his super drunk, and there's no fun in that". The reality had been that he was only slightly more relaxed by some glasses of champagne, but still in his right mind to know what he was doing. He was amused by it -  maybe he could even admit that he had thought about going a little further - but he was happy that their little moment had been interrupted by Maryse. He wouldn't have been that pleased with himself if he had broken his rule of never mixing pleasure with business for a Lightwood (even if he looked like Alec).

He found his eyes darting the room and stopping at the sight of Alec, who looked as bored as him - and really, no one could blame him, the kid Brian didn't exactly look like much fun. He decided that he had already put up with enough boring noise for the rest of the night, and that he would do his good deed of the day by saving Alec from being tortured, saying to himself that he was only doing it because of how much he had surprised him before.

He walked behind him and put his hand in his upper arm, squeezing it slightly (and really, it was his own fault for being surprised that the man also worked out). Alec looked towards him as he felt the touch and Magnus couldn't help but smile at the hopeful look directed at him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's something I would like you to see, Alec. If you could just excuse us" he said to Brian, motioning for Alec to follow him.

"Is there somewhere we could go where we could get some air? It's getting awfully warm in here" he said, his hands playing with the collar of his shirt instinctively when they were no longer in earing distance from Brian. He saw Alec follow his hands and swallow in dry, and really, they both could use some cold.

"Hum, yeah, uh, there's a balcony over there" mumbled Alec, pointing in its direction.

"Lead the way" said Magnus.

They walked into the cold air of a spring night. Alec let the door open, following Magnus near the edge. They stood there for a while, taking in the cold and the silence, only a murmur of the party that felt now miles away. Alec was the first to break the silence.

"Thank you for getting me out of there". He let out a big breath through his noise, letting his shoulders drop. He assumed a more relaxed position, facing the house and leaning back on the ledge. "My mom, she keeps trying to find me someone and I..." he paused, his eyes failing on Magnus.

Magnus was still contemplating the view, his eyes on the horizon. He wasn't the last bit surprised. He had heard all about how the coming out of the eldest Lightwood had prompted numerous families to be suddenly the most supportive group of rich people that Magnus had ever seen, just for the chance of having their son married to the Alexander Lightwood. He found the whole thing comical on good days, sad on bad ones.

Alec seemed to notice that what he was telling him wasn't really surprising him.

"You already knew about that". He sounded defeated and tired. "I guess most people know more about my life than I was aware of" he sighed.

"Elitist circles like this always have their fair share of gossip" Magnus stated, matter-of-factly. He finally looked at Alec, feeling compassion. "To be frank, I don't know how you put up with it. If it where me, I would have already found someone that I was sure didn't fit their criteria" he paused, and it only took him half a second for the veracity of his own words to hit him.

"That was what you were doing" he stated, more to himself than Alec. "Tonight, with me, you..." He couldn't help but laugh a little. In different circumstances, he would have probably been angry or disappointed, but since he was set on not letting himself be seduced by Alec's charms and he had just suggested him to do the exact same thing, he felt that it would be hypocritical of him to feel that way.

"No, Magnus, I..." babbled Alec, trying to find a way to apologize.

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize" cut Magnus, sparing him the embarrassment of trying to find the right words for half an hour. "I did just suggest it to you, so" but he couldn't help being a little hurt at the idea of it all being fake, even if Magnus wasn't willing to take it further.

"You're not mad?" asked Alec, reluctantly.

"No. My ego might be a little hurt, but that'll pass" he said, shrugging it off like it was nothing.

"Why?" asked Alec, genuinely surprised. "I meant everything I said."

Magnus was sure that he didn't want to fall into this trap. But he wasn't thinking straight, his ego was hurt.

"And what did you say, exactly? Remind me" he said, his tone more playful now.

Alec rolled his eyes fondly and smiled, pretending to think hard.

"Well, I might not have said anything specifically, but I do remember implying that your company was worth me going to a party, even though I'm not the type".

Magnus let out a laugh.

"And that's supposed to impress me?" he asked, their teasing tone from before back.

"Somewhere in there it was also implied that I find you…” he paused a little, like he was trying to look for the right word. “Attractive" admitted Alec, torn between a need to prove to Magnus that his feelings where genuine and the fear of being too forward and making a fool of himself.

Magnus eyes were wide open in surprise. He had fallen into his charm again, but at least his ego was no longer hurting.

"I must admit, if there is one aspect in which the rumours don't make you justice is the flirting".

"That's partly because I'm very careful with the people that I flirt with" he said, and it wouldn't be a lie if he hadn't decided to focus mostly on his work. "And, partly, I think, because of you".

Magnus suddenly realised that the distance between the two of them had shortened dangerously, and he couldn't really stand there and be the recipient of such flattery without doing anything, so he decided to take a step back.

"I'm sorry, Alec" he said, his head down. "I probably shouldn't have let it come to this..."

"Is there anything wrong?" asked Alec, his voice low, his tone concerned.

"It's just that I don’t really like to mix things. We technically do business together, so” he paused a little, weighting his words, “I’m not really comfortable with being more than friends".

Alec took a step backwards, touching his hands in a nervous manner.

"I see..." he muttered, clearly disappointed, his eyes stuck to the floor.

Magnus waited a few seconds before adding in a low voice "I should go".

He left Alec alone on the balcony and went straight home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this chapter (despite the ending not being the happiest). I'll probably post every week on Sundays and I'll add tags and characters as the story progresses. In the mean time kudos and comments are apreciated :) You can also talk to me on my tumblr [here](https://saltyaleclightwood.tumblr.com/).


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec works too much.  
> Clary and Simon go to Magnus when they need help.  
> And Magnus goes to Alec.

The next day, Alec woke up

early and went out for a run. The day was cloudy, tinting the sky a dull grey, the wind blowing swiftly through Alec’s sweat slicked hair. He didn’t mind it, it helped him stay cool and it seemed to suit his mood.

He had never been a sports guy, neither as a form of entertainment nor as way to stay fit, just good enough for high school PE classes. However, as a teenager, his brother Jace started to drag him to gyms when he realised that he was good at physical stuff and that girls would find him even more attractive if he had a good set of muscles to go with his pretty face. Alec had grunted and complained, more worried about getting into a good college than anything else, but, just like it normally went, he eventually obliged to his siblings wishes. It hadn’t been so bad. Izzy would sometimes go with them and, when Alec was tired of training or hearing Jace talk about training regimens, he could always just lay back and appreciate the sculpted bodies of the other gym goers. Eventually, Jace found people who were as enthusiastic about going to the gym as him, but Alec would join him sometimes, when he felt that his job was preventing him from spending as much time with his siblings as he would have liked.

Despite that, he would sometimes go out for run, especially when there was something in his mind that he didn’t want to think about. He had always been prone to overthinking so, in college, the one way he found of stopping thinking about his grades or how much he missed his siblings was to let himself get lost in the exhaustion of running. And now, it was Magnus.

He focused on his body, his feet hitting the concrete ground, one after the other, his arms following the natural movements of his body, his heart pounding in his chest, his shallow breathing, trying to keep a steady rhythm. Sometimes he would look around, let his gaze follow the people walking on the street, the surrounding environment, the occasional runner or cyclist. But ultimately, his focus would turn back inwards, clearing his mind of everything that wasn’t remotely connected to the physical activity.

When he got back to his apartment, his breathing was almost back to normal, slowly lessening his speed before stopping completely. He took a quick shower, changed clothes and grabbed something to eat from the fridge. When he settled on the couch and started to look for something to watch on the TV, it didn’t take long for his thoughts to catch up with the lack of efficient distractions. His mind went directly to the night before, the moment before Magnus pulled back and left the balcony.

He wasn’t really sure why he was so hung up on it. It was fine, really. He met someone, they talked and he was rejected. It wasn’t the first time that such a thing had happened and he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be the last. He let his mind wonder. There was something special about Magnus and Alec was sure it wasn’t just his extremely good looks. Well, whatever it was, Alec was probably not going to find out either way. He had been really explicit about what he was comfortable with, and Alec was never one to chase people that didn’t want to be chased.

He looked at his phone to check the time and he found two unanswered texts, one from his mother and one from Izzy.

_How was last night? ;)_ , said Izzy’s. He rolled his eyes fondly, unsurprised but always slightly amused by her concerns when it came to his love life.

He proceeded to the next one with caution.

_What did you think of Brian? Mr. Cromwell invited your dad for tennis, maybe you should join them_ , said Mom’s. He was already expecting it and couldn’t help being relieved that his mother didn’t know how to use emojis.

He put down his phone and turned off the TV. He stood there for a while, before reaching for his computer and deciding that only work could really sooth his relentless thoughts.

\----

One of the best parts of Magnus job was that it allowed for a flexible schedule. Some other good parts were that he always had a party to attend to, and they looked nothing like the Lightwoods' party.

He might not be as rich as them (and truly, he had no desire to), but having his own club business, owning properties in multiple states that he could then rent for events with a share of the profits or exploit at his own will was definitely an area of business that suited him really well. Sure, it might not go as well with an old family name as having a law firm did, but luckily, he had come up with his own name, so he didn't really need to worry about that.

He got out of his bed around noon, tired of trying to decide whether he should regret more what he did or what he hadn't done the night before. He took his time getting ready, and when he found a package of hair dye in his bathroom while he rearranged things absent minded, he decided to pamper himself by dyeing the tips of his fringe red. When he was done, he took a look at his phone and saw that he still had some time before Clary arrived, so he poured himself a glass of whiskey and distracted himself with a book.

At around four o'clock he heard someone knock on his door. He got up and opened it.

"I didn't know Simon was coming too" was his first reaction to seeing him and Clary on the other side of his door.

"He insisted, so" shrugged Clary, and Magnus shouldn't have been as surprised as he was. The boy seemed to follow her everywhere.

He let them through. They’re posture was a bit tense and he could also see a little of anxiety in the way that Clary was holding her purse, her hand closed in a fist around the fabric. This didn’t seem like it would be a simple hang out among friends.

"I've told you before, if this has anything to do with work - " said Magnus, definitely not in the mood to discuss things that could easily wait until next week.

"It doesn't" cut Clary. "It's about Luke”, and as soon as the words came out of her mouth, the anxiety in her mannerisms turned into determination.

Simon nodded frantically, a hand on her shoulders in reassurance. Magnus’ eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"What about him?" he asked, gesturing for them follow him into the living room.

She waited for them to get to the living room to start rummaging through her bag. She took out her phone, her fingers tapping the screen before she extended it to Magnus.

“We’d like to know if you know anything about this”.

Magnus took the phone in his hand. In front of him was a picture of an old news report about a corrupt cop in Utah. He looked at Clary and she gestured for him to swap right. He obliged. In the next picture, in the news report font, he could read “Detective Luke Graymark and Detective Valentine Morgenstern”. He was unable to hide his surprise, his eyebrows shooting to his forehead, his eyes widening. This was bad.

“Apparently you do”. Her tone was accusatory, now, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Where did you find this?” asked Magnus, handing her phone back.

“We were at Jocelyn’s, searching for some old childhood photos of us when we knocked a box filled with these” replied Simon, his hands moving in the air as he talked.

“That’s not important” said Clary, promptly. “What do you know?”

“I think you should probably talk to your mother about this, biscuit” said Magnus, trying to keep her calm while at the same time getting himself out of this situation as soon as possible.

“You know she won’t tell me anything. To this day, she still refuses to answer me whenever I ask her about her life before she had me. I don’t even know anything about my father other than his name, his job and that he was a major dick. And most of that was Luke, trying to keep me quiet” Clary was pacing around in his living room and suddenly, years of pent up anger about being kept in the dark seemed to be surfacing and Magnus wasn’t exactly sure what to do.

“Is this about your dad? Because if it is -” started Magnus, apprehensive about her intentions.

“It’s not” cut Clary, before he could finish. “I don’t want to have anything to do with him. I know he hurt my mom; this isn’t about me trying to create a connection with him, this is about Luke and his past”.

Magnus sighed. He knew when to give up and he also knew Clary; he knew that she would probably turn her mother’s house upside down, trying to find more evidences of their past. Now that she had gotten a glimpse of it, she wouldn’t stop before knowing the whole story. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try and tell her as little as possible, especially since it wasn’t really his story to tell.

“What do you want to know?” he asked. “I’m not going to tell you the whole story of your mother and Luke, if that’s what you’re expecting, but I might be able to tell you a thing or another” he added, trying not to keep her hopes up.

She was about to argue, but Simon put his hand in her shoulder and intervened.

“It’s better than nothing. Just hear what he has to say”.

She pondered over his words and decided to not put up a fight.

“Fine. Why did Luke change his name?”

He pondered a little, before deciding that is best option was to keep his answers short, with little details.

“Protection” he said simply.

She looked at him, clearly disappointed.

“Look, I don’t know the full story to a lot of things. If you want more, you’ll have to ask him directly”.

She didn’t seem very happy about it, but she knew it was her only option.

“Fine” she sighed, defeated. “What do you know about the article?”, she said a bit calmer, now.

“I don’t know. What does it say?” he asked, trying to know what they already knew.

“That Luke was accused of corruption by Valentine” said Simon. “He was fired because of it and Valentine got a job in the FBI, although I’m not sure what that has to do with it”.

“Well, I knew that. And that it was around that time that they left Utah”.

“So, they used to live there, the three of them?” asked Clary.

Magnus nodded in response.

“So, you’re saying that what’s in the article is true?” asked Clary in disbelief.

“For all I know, it is” he said, but he knew as well as her that there was something else that neither Luke nor Jocelyn had ever told him.

“No, that can’t be” said Simon, shaking his head in disbelief. “I know Luke, I’ve known ever since I can remember. He’s like a father to me, he taught me how to ride a bike, how to shave, he even helped my mother pay for my first guitar. There’s no way he did any of those things, whether they were criminals or not”.

“I completely agree” said Clary. “It makes no sense. And why would they both leave their home after that? Why would my mother leave my dad, who had just gotten a promotion, to go with a supposed criminal? And why would he have to change his identity? We have to get to the bottom of this” she said imperatively.

“Maybe he was framed” suggested Simon. “I know he is your dad, but if he is as much of a bad guy as we think he is, maybe he was the one doing the dirty”. He stopped. “That came out wrong”.

“Wait, slow down” said Magnus. “You two have clearly been watching too much movies. This isn’t a noir and neither of us are detectives. If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask Luke or Jocelyn”.

“This is no longer about knowing about their past, Magnus. This is about justice” said Clary.

“And what _justice_ do you think you can get? All of this happened over twenty years ago, you have no evidence, nothing that can support your claims” he said matter-of-factly.

“We can’t just _stand_ here, doing nothing” she replied. “You know they won’t let me help them if I just talk to them. We have to at least know if there’s anything we can do” she pledged.

“Don’t you know anyone that could help us? Like a professional, maybe a cop or a lawyer?” asked Simon.

“We can’t just hire a lawyer, Simon, we don’t have the money” said Clary.

And at this point, Magnus could only think of one person.

“I know someone” said Magnus.

Clary’s eyes lit up with hope.

“You do? And you’ll help us?” she asked, grabbing his hand.

“Send me the picture of the report” she almost started jumping. “Calm down. I can’t promise anything and he might just tell me that there’s nothing that can be done”.

“It’s a start. Thank you so much” she said, and suddenly he was attacked by her small arms around his torso in a tight hug.

He looked over at Simon, who was staring at them with puppy eyes, feeling left out. He motioned for him to join them and Simon’s face instantly lit up, taking small skips in their direction and putting his arms around Clary and Magnus. He hugged them back and couldn’t help rolling his eyes fondly.

\----

Mondays weren't always as slow as this. Sometimes they were filled with court sessions, visits to clients, settlement meetings and a general moving around from place to place. Other times they were only filled with paperwork and hours that either passed too fast or too slow. This was one of those days and even though Alec had always find a way to savour them, today he'd hoped that he didn't have to stay stuck to his desk all day.

The only time he left it, besides the occasional visit to the bathroom, was to have lunch with his siblings.

"Meliorn has some tickets for a concert. Want to join? He's invited some friends and said I could invite whoever I want" suggested Izzy, during lunch.

“Yeah, sounds dope” said Jace.

"I don't know, I'll probably have work to do" said Alec.

Jace and Izzy groaned at the same time.

"I haven't even told when it is" complained Izzy. "You're no fun".

"If I'm no fun, then why do you want me to go to a concert with you?" he replied.

“We’re willing to have you suck the fun out of things if it means you spend less time working and more time having fun. That’s how much we care about you” said Jace.

“Who says I don’t have enough fun, already?” he said, teasing them.

“Stop evading with your questions, do you want to go or not?" asked Izzy.

He thought about it for a while.

“When is it?” asked Alec.

“It’s a few weeks from now” replied Izzy. Seeing that he wasn’t satisfied with the answer, she tried to elaborate. “I don’t remember the date exactly, but it’s on a Saturday”.

"Fine I'll go". He took a moment to take a bite of his lunch. "What band is it?"

"I don't know, some indie festival..." she looked at him and the disbelieving expression on his face. "They always play some covers that everybody knows, you'll have a good time".

He hoped so. His siblings were right, he had to go out more, have some fun, meet new people. Maybe if he'd let things happen naturally he would be able to solve his problems without an unwanted talk with his parents.

Back on his desk, he looked at the time on his computer. It was about half past five and although it was already past his time, he would normally stay a couple more hours working. He looked at his schedule for the rest of the week. The following days were a bit busier, but he had everything under control so he decided to leave earlier. Surely the world wouldn't collapse if he worked the standard eight hours for one day.

He started to gather his stuff when the phone in his desk started ringing. He put it on speaker with a sigh.

"Yes, Sarah?"

"There's someone here to see you, Mr. Lightwood”.

He furrowed his eyebrows, his thumb and index finger pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I don't remember having an appointment today."

There was a small pause before she added.

"He asked me to tell you that his name is Magnus Bane. Should I let him in?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, his hand falling next to his torso. He took a moment to think, but it really didn't take much for him to make a decision.

"Yes, you can let him in. Thank you, Sarah" he added before ending the call.

He wondered if he should roll the sleeves of his blue shirt down, but he decided not to overthink it and stay the way he was. He sat back on his chair, trying to look relaxed and yet professional. He had the impression that he was failing miserably.

The door was opened by Sarah, Magnus following right behind her. He stood up, they shook hands and Alec offered Magnus to take a seat. While he made his way back to the other side of the desk, he couldn't help but rub his hands against his trousers, his skin still tingling at the touch.

"I wasn't expecting seeing you here" said Alec, and he wondered if he was being direct or hostile. He went with professional and cursed his inability of being chill when it came to Magnus. He was probably only here for business, nothing else.

"I know, I'm sorry" apologized Magnus. " I would have made an appointment, but I didn't have your number and I wanted to make sure that I could get to you" he said, in a similar professional tone as Alec's.

"It's okay. What can help you with?" he asked, leaning forward, his arms resting on the desk, his thumb rubbing against the underside of his other hand.

“It’s about a friend. I’m not sure if this is your area, but you’re the only lawyer I know so I decided to give it a shot” said Magnus, hesitantly.

It was lie. He knew at least one other lawyer and he worked at this exact firm. His name was Albert and he was Magnus’ lawyer, the one responsible for dealing with everything that had to do with his clubs. But Alec didn’t point it out, assuming that Magnus knew that he was privy to this information.

"Go on" encouraged Alec. He opened the top drawer of his desk, took out a notebook and opened it in a blank page, while his other hand searched for a pen. "I’ll see what I can do".

And so, Magnus started telling Clary's story, about Luke being a cop and being fired for corruption, about how he and Jocelyn flew from Utah to New York and changed their identities, trying to get away from Valentine, Clary’s father. He told him how Clary and Simon found an old newspaper article, that he showed Alec, and started being suspicious and how they wanted to know if there was anything that could be done about it.

Alec heard Magnus attentively, without interrupting, letting him tell the whole story before he started asking questions. He took a couple of notes names, locations, among other things. He waited a few seconds before speaking, looking through his notes, trying to make sense of the whole thing in his head.

“When did this happen?” asked Alec. His expression was serious, trying to go over the story in his head and finding a way of telling Magnus that it was near impossible to do anything without sounding too harsh.

“The article is from 1991” informed Magnus. “There’s nothing you can do, is it?” he asked without surprise.

“It would much easier if we knew Luke and Jocelyn’s version of the story” he said, evading the question.

“Well, Clary doesn’t want to talk to them and I’m not going to get in the middle of it. At least not more than I already am” he added. “I’m just doing this because Clary insists on doing something about the whole thing”.

“The problem is there’s no evidence. All you have is a news article, an incomplete version of the story and some conjecture. I can try and pass this to a criminal lawyer, but -”

“No. That’s out of the question” cut Magnus, promptly. “What I told you here is more than even Clary knows. There’s a reason I came to you, Alec, and without Luke, Jocelyn or Clary’s permission, I would rather if no one else was privy to such details of their private life”.

Alec took in Magnus words, and he knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help but ask.

“What’s the reason? I mean, you have a lawyer that you’ve known for longer than me. It would make sense for you to trust him more than me” pointed out Alec, mostly curious.

Magnus seemed both surprised and amused by the question, his lips quirking in a shy smile.

“As much of a good lawyer as Albert is, I don’t really know anything about him other than the fact that he’s a great lawyer. You, on the other hand, told me about your mother and Brian. You didn’t say much, mostly because I already knew about it, but that doesn’t invalidate the fact that somehow you trusted me. Am I wrong to assume that you wouldn’t have told that to any stranger?” he asked. “Especially when you can’t even tell your parents off about the whole thing” he added, as an afterthought.

Alec couldn’t help the smile that was forming in his lips. He had always been way too easy to read.

“You’re not” he admitted.

“Well, I trust you too” he said with a smile. “I don’t really know why, but I do”.

“What if it turns out and I’m a terrible lawyer?” teased Alec.

Magnus let out a small laugh.

“Maryse and Robert Lightwood wouldn’t waste their time trying to get you married to a good business partner if they didn’t think you were a good lawyer. After all, there’s always your sister. They are not exactly desperate”.

“Fair enough. I’ll look into it, but I’m pretty sure no lawyer can make a case with this few information” he said, trying to be blunt. “Just, don’t let your friend’s hopes get too high”.

“You clearly don’t know her” muttered Magnus under his breath. “About the money, I'll...”

"You don't have to worry about that" he cut, and seeing as Magnus was going to complain, he quickly added, "it's not even a case yet”.

“It’s still legal advice, and from what I know, lawyers get paid for that” said Magnus.

“How about we talk about that if I find anything? Until then, let’s just say it’s a- favour- for a friend” he said, overthinking his choice of words.

"Friend" said Magnus, slowly, as if he was trying to figure out how he felt about the word. "I can work with that" he concluded with a more cheerful tone.

And with that, Alec no longer had everything under control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens. Next chapter we'll have a look into Magnus job and we might understand a bit better his reluctance when it cames to mixing business with pleasure. In the mean time kudos and comments are apreciated :) You can also talk to me on my tumblr [here](https://saltyaleclightwood.tumblr.com/).


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus has a hard time at work.  
> Alec finds a way to help Clary.  
> And Camille is a pain in the ass.

Magnus and Alec left his office together, and Magnus almost regretted bringing his small luggage to the Lightwood firm in an attempt to save some time when Alec offered to give him a ride to the airport. It turned out he had nothing to fear; the conversation was kept light and flew naturally, which meant that Alec had asked about his trip and Magnus had talked about the event that he was overseeing in California, while Alec hummed and gave him short answers to show that he was listening, mostly keeping his eyes on the road. Magnus took the opportunity to look at him a little closely. He noticed the paleness in his forearms, his sleeves still rolled, which told him that he didn’t take vacations regularly (at least not in hot places) or travel that much. He looked at the watch in his left wrist, expensive but with an old design, classic, probably a graduation gift from his parents. His fingernails were kept short, his hands soft – softer than his at least -, no other ornaments other than the watch. His shirt had some of the top buttons opened, more than at the office, and if Magnus looked closely he could swear he could see some chest hair. His posture wasn’t t tense, having no problem reclining back in his chair while keeping an attentive driving, probably helped by hi long limbs.

Sometimes neither of them talked, but Magnus wasn’t really bothered by that, and Alec didn’t seem to be either. Alec got out of the car when they arrived at the airport and helped him take out his luggage from the truck. They said an awkward goodbye and other than Alec’s “I really like what you did with the hair” when he was already entering the airport, there had been no flirting or anything other than friendly conversation.

Magnus boarded the airplane in a good mood, relaxed and hoping that he could keep this feeling for the whole of his stay at California.

He stayed at his usual hotel and it wasn’t even lunch time when he got to the venue where the launch of some minor celebrity’s perfume would take place. Most of the decorations where already in place, the stage was built, and the bar was now being taken care of. Everything was going well, so he offered to help put the alcohol in the shelfs for presentation, which gave him the opportunity to make sure that everything was the highest quality, like it always should be. He also used the time to talk to some of the employees. They already had contracts with most of the companies that they worked with, so some of them Magnus knew, while others were complete strangers. Despite this, he never really bothered with names, he was terrible at that.

When that was done he went looking for the public relations that was responsible for the event to congratulate her on the work already done and talk about some details.

“Hey! Valerie, right? I just wanted to say that everything is looking great so far. I just have some questions to ask you – “

“Mr. Bane, hi –” she seemed surprised by seeing him there. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to come tonight” she said, a confused expression on her face.

“We talked over the phone on Friday, I told you I was coming”. Magnus was equally surprised.

And just like that, almost on cue, Magnus heard the clicking of heels on the floor behind him, and just like dogs barking before an earthquake, what followed the noise was either a destructive force or, if he was prepare, incredibly annoying. Magnus wasn’t prepared.

“I told her that you weren’t coming” said a small woman, just showing up on his field of vision, a hand on his shoulder.

He immediately got away from the touch.

“Camille” he uttered the word like it was a curse. “What are you doing here?”. Magnus hoped that he looked more annoyed than taken aback.

“Magnus, is that way of treating your business partner?” she said, pretending to be offended.

"I'll talk to you later, Valerie" he said, not wanting to have this conversation in front of his... their employees. "Until then keep up the good work" he added with a smile.

"Why did you tell her that I wasn't coming?" he asked, his smile dropping as soon as turned back to her.

"I was just trying to be helpful" she said, and Magnus was lucky that her puppy eyes no longer worked on him. "I thought you would be too busy with your new boy toy" she added with a knowing look and walked away, knowing pretty well that he was going to follow her. God, he hated the woman!

"I don't know what you're talking about" he said to her back.

"Really Magnus, you're trying to lie to me?" she said to the air in front of her, keeping her pace.

She decided to stop next to the place where the flowers were being delivered, inspecting them. He stopped right next to her.

"A Lightwood, hun? You really have stepped up in life" she said, her eyes glued to a particular flower. "Unfortunately to you, no one will ever be quite at my level" she said, almost mocking, looking him in the eyes.

"Do you really have nothing better to do than spy on me?" he asked her.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger in his direction. "So, there is something between you and the Lightwood."

"That's none of your business" he said, refusing to give her the satisfaction of giving her a direct answer.

"Don't try to deny it now" she said, an evil expression on her face. "And just so your ego doesn't get too big, I'll tell you that I wasn't spying on you, a friend was at the party and she was the one that decided to tell me. I have no interest in your life" and with that, she walked away once more, Magnus following her around.

"That still doesn't tell me what you're doing here" insisted Magnus.

She stopped in her tracks in the middle of the room, forcing Magnus to stop with her. He was starting to get a headache.

"This" she said with a gesture that encompassed the whole room, "is also mine. I just want to take care of what's mine."

She was about to turn around and start walking when Magnus grabbed her by the shoulders to force her to stay in the same place for more than ten seconds.

"Since when?" he asked.

"Since I've heard that the Lightwoods are dying to marry off their eldest son. The one that you're dating now. I'm definitely not going to let him fool me with his lawyer tricks and take what I have from me".

"You know, for someone that says she doesn't care about my life..."

"I don't" cut Camille. "You know, if you can't handle being business partners, you might as well quit. You know I have the check waiting."

She walked away again, and this time, Magnus didn't follow. Just like with their past relationship, Magnus eventually got tired of her little games. It turns out, his stay at California was going to be anything but relaxing.

\----

Alec had completely given up on getting home at a normal hour, instead, opting to stay in the office going over his new case if he had the time. He read the notes that he took when Magnus told him the story. The first thing he did was research their database for any cases that mentioned either Valentine or Luke, but since both of them had worked in Utah, more specifically, Salt Lake City, it led nowhere. If he wanted to know anything he would probably have to go there in person, but he didn't exactly have much time, nor did he know anyone that lived there.

The next thing he did was look at the law. Specifically, policies regarding employment in the police force. He took some notes of potential loop holes that he could find when it came to Luke’s discharge, but he did it mostly for a sense of accomplishment since the only thing that he could probably accuse them of was discrimination, but that would neither help nor be a battle that could easily be won.

The last thing he did before deciding that they definitely needed more information (and it wasn't something that he could provide as a lawyer) was look up similar cases where accusation involved an FBI agent. That wasn't much of a good idea, since those cases were rare (because really, who would even think of try and sue an FBI agent) and the ones that had been won were even rarer.

Since Magnus hadn't called or texted to press him for a response, he decided to let the problem rest in the back of his head; maybe he would remember something else to do, and in the meantime, he had actual work that needed to be done.

That weekend he decided to join Jace in the gym in an attempt to distract himself from work.

"Is Izzy joining us today?" Alec asked while he followed Jace to one of the machines.

"She went with Merliorn on a trip this weekend to meet with a college friend in San Francisco. Don't you remember?" replied Jace.

"Right" he muttered, remembering that she had mentioned that before. That reminded him, "hey, do you know anyone in Utah?".

"No" said Jace, surprised. "Why, do you want to go there?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Alec shook his head. "Never mind, it's for a case."

They both stopped talking for a while, getting on the treadmill and choosing the right program.

"You know it's a Saturday, right?" asked Jace when they started running, Alec going a little slower than Jace. "C'mon man, relax! It's a breath-taking day today, the sun is shining, you're here, running with your brother..."

"It'll be breath-taking if you keep running at that pace and don't stop talking" Alec teased in his older brother voice, wanting to change the subject.

"We'll see who gets out of breath first" Jace teased back, a competitive edge to his voice. "But first we need to be on the same level." He started messing with the buttons on Alec's treadmill, while he tried to prevent Jace from choosing a speed that Alec couldn't keep up with. Soon they were attracting the attention of part of the gym, behaving like little kids, but Alec didn't really mind.

They ended up finding some of Jace's gym buddies, so trained with them and then had lunch together. Alec would normally take to opportunity to leave earlier and go home to do some work, but he decided to stay a little longer than he used. He didn't exactly have the time of his life, but he was able to relax and participate in some light conversation before feeling drained by the social interaction with people that he really didn't know that well.

On his way home, he tried to pay some attention to the places around him and noticed a library. He was reminded of Magnus' case, and so he decided to walk in, not really sure why he was doing it. Maybe he would find something that he hadn’t been able to find somewhere else.

He decided to walk around for a bit, entranced by the silence, a sense of shelter and quiet that only a library could provide. He looked at the books, reading the titles on the spines, and despite this new-found state of relaxation that he found himself in, he decided to consult the law area of the library. He recognised some of the old books from his college days and realised that it was probably the first time that he was in a library ever since he had finished his education. He picked up a book and sat at a table. He opened it at a page at random and looked at it, not really finding any useful information. He kept looking through the book anyway, trying to capture a feeling that was long lost.

Alec had never been much of a nostalgic person, especially when his life was so much better now than when he had been in college. Sure, it had been an experience, he had made some friends that he still kept to this day and it had been the first time that he had felt completely confident without having his siblings by his side; he had had his first relationship, and overall, those times shaped him into the man he was today. But it wasn't all good things: in retrospective, the relationship had been a nightmare, with Alec still too closed off to open up emotionally, he was too uptight - and really, only know was mildly succeeding in loosen up without feeling like he was pretending to be someone else - and overall a worst person. That was the good thing about the past: when you're done with it, it'll hopefully leave you with the best parts of yourself.

He closed the book, putting it away, and wondered once more through the library. He found some books on Utah - mostly touristic stuff, places to visit, some small history. He looked through it, not really hoping to find anything and was struck with the feeling that he had heard about the place before. Surely, he had met someone that had lived there.

His mind went back to college. He picked up his phone and went to his Facebook page. He didn't use it much (his sister had made him do it), but it was useful for stuff like this. He went to his college group page and looked through the members, sure that he would remember when he saw the right name. And he did.

The name was Lydia Branwell. She was his age and one of the best of his class. They had met through a mutual friend (who had tried to set them up before Alec had properly came out) and had studied together sometimes. At the end of college, they drifted apart, Alec going back to New York and her going back to Utah.

He looked through her Facebook page and saw that she was working at a law firm in Salt Lake City. He decided to send her a message asking if she could help him with a case. She responded instantly.

\----

Camille's reign of terror wasn't cut short. After leaving California, Magnus had hoped to drown himself in work to forget that he had the devil incarnated as a partner. The summer was getting closer, and with that come more work, the number of parties and events rising with the temperature, and Magnus needed to make sure that he was already booked until the end of September (while also keeping some places for those last-minute emergencies). And even closer was May, which for Magnus meant weddings and bachelor and bachelorette parties, which, although there weren't as many as other types of events, also meant a butt load of work. So, when he got to his office on Friday and his secretary told him that Ms. Belcourt had left a message saying that she would be back in New York in less than week and wanted to have a meeting with him, Magnus wasn't exactly ecstatic.

"She never cares about anything as long as she gets a fat check at the end of the month, and all of a sudden she's attending events and marking meetings" he had complained to Raphael.

"She's just trying to be zealous of her stuff. I know she likes to mess with you, but you have nothing to worry about. Just give her what she wants and she'll soon get bored of playing with you" he had advised.

"The problem is she always wants too much" he tried to calm himself. "But you're right. I'll just do my job, and as long as she sticks to doing hers, everything will be fine."

He made sure that everything was in order and asked his secretary to compile a file of the events of the next couple of months. He wouldn't be caught failing at his work nor would he be accused of making Camille's work harder than it needed to be.

On Sunday, he woke up to a text from Alec.

_Good morning. I hope your trip to California went well. I have some news on Clary's case. When you can call me._

Magnus smiled at the endearing, yet professional, look of the text. He got up, had some breakfast, and when he felt properly woken up, he dialled Alec's number.

"Good morning" he said.

"It's more afternoon. Late night?" asked Alec, and Magnus could hear a small smile in his voice.

"It's part of the business" replied Magnus.

"How was California? Haven't been there in a while..." he asked. Someone was in a good mood, and it was rubbing off on Magnus.

"It was nightmare" he answered shortly, and before Alec could ask any follow up questions, he added, "but everything's fine now" that I'm talking to you. He didn't say it, but Alec seemed to have a calming effect on him, and in the midst of the turbulence in his work life, it was worth it to cherish the feeling. "How about you?"

"Nothing special" shrugged Alec, "just a normal week. I did have some ideas of how we can know more about the case" he added.

"I'm all hears" said Magnus.

"I think it's better if we meet somewhere" suggested Alec hesitantly. "I don't want to sound paranoid, but since he's an FBI agent, and if he's done some stuff I'm sure he has taken some precautions. I just think that the less we expose ourselves the better."

"You're right" said Magnus.

"I would offer my office, but soon people would start asking questions..."

"We can meet at my place" suggested Magnus. "Clary already knows where it is and I can send you the address."

So, they decided to meet, the four of them (because Simon insisted on going), at Magnus' place, Monday night for dinner. Alec didn't seem that happy with the time, but Magnus didn't want to neglect work so Alec seemed to understand, even laughing when Magnus had asked if the Lightwoods ate pizza (which hadn't been a joke, he was seriously wondering, but was glad that Alec found that amusing).

Regarding Clary's problems, Magnus was torn, having enough problems on his own jumping around in his mind. However, he had said that he would help, and Alec was also making an effort, taking time of his personal life to help someone that he had never even met. Somehow that swayed him towards a more positive view of the whole thing. He did have to take his mind of Camille somehow, and if there was something distracting in the world it was other's people's problems and pretty boys trying to solve them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Magnus, has to put up with Camille :( Next chapter will be here on Sunday: Alec, Clary and Simon will meet and Magnus will evaluate his feelings for Alec. In the meantime kudos and comments are apreciated :) You can also talk to me on my tumblr [here](https://saltyaleclightwood.tumblr.com/).


	4. Chapter 4

Between last minute meetings and urgent phone calls, Alec almost had to cancel Monday’s dinner. Almost. Instead, he was now on his way to Magnus' apartment, only fifteen minutes late. He didn't have much trouble finding the place and although he had texted Magnus warning him of his delay, he still insisted on waiting for him for them to start eating.  
He was greeted at the door by Magnus and apologized once more. Magnus waved it away, leading him to the living room.  
Alec looked around, taking the place in. It was very well decorated; everywhere he turned some new piece of memorabilia caught his attention, and what could have easily looked like a mess, thanks to Magnus taste, looked like a well-organized, yet vibrant space. It made him feel welcome, somehow.  
Magnus introduced him to Clary and Simon. They shook hands and proceeded to the kitchen where a small table was already set for the four of them.  
"I know it's not a luxurious dining room, but since it's pizza and business, I thought we could use a simpler setting" Magnus said to Alec.  
"Magnus, I might have been raised in a rich house but I'm not an asshole. I have no problem with eating pizza or eating in kitchens or any of that" he said with a smile, fondness spilling in his voice. He found it slightly amusing that Magnus had this idea of him, but he didn't want him to keep apologizing for things that were, to Alec, pretty trivial.  
"If you say so" replied Magnus with a smile. " Have I told you that Simon and Clary work with me?" he asked, trying to change the subject, gesturing for them to seat.  
"No. What do you do?" he asked them, while they sat, Magnus walking around the kitchen.  
"I work in graphic design" said Clary. "I pretty much design the posters, invitations or menus for the events in New York."  
He looked at her, sitting across him at the round kitchen table. She's short, maybe the size of his sister, but skinnier and she didn't wear heels. Her fiery hair was her most prominent characteristic, and it framed her face in such a way that gave her a more innocent look while also adding a dangerously determined edge to her features.  
"And I'm an accountant" said Simon, clearly trying to sound more enthusiastic than he felt. "I deal with numbers, money, stuff..." and Alec wouldn't have been able to tell by his general geeky attire, jeans and a flannel shirt opened to show a colourful t-shirt with an indie band name in it or something that was vaguely familiar.  
He was smaller than Alec and Magnus (probably also smaller than Jace) and was also skinnier, his shoulders slightly hunched forward.  
"Is that how you guys met?" he asked, making an effort to relax.  
They all picked a slice of pizza and started to eat, while Magnus handed them all a beer. Alec's was given a look that he could only read as something like "since you don't want me to ask, I'll just assume you'll drink it by the bottle like all of us" and although Alec didn't like beer that much, he preferred this type of treatment.  
"We met in kindergarten" said Clary, gesturing between herself and Simon, who was sat at Alec's right. "And we met because Magnus used to buy my mom's art and they became friends" she added.  
"And how did you two met?" asked Simon, pointing towards Alec and Magnus.  
Alec was slightly taken aback by the question, but it was a fair one so he took it upon himself to answer, trying to establish an environment of trust and openness like he normally did with his clients.  
"We met at a party" he said. "But we already knew of each other because Magnus' lawyer works at the firm that my parents own and that I work for" he added. He felt Magnus' eyes on him, but tried to keep his focus on Simon and Clary.  
She nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer, probably worried about who had Magnus trusted to give information about her personal life.  
They ate in silence for a while, until Magnus decided to intervene.  
"We should probably talk about what brought you here" he said, looking at Alec.  
"Right" he said, taking a swig of his beer to buy some time and keep his thoughts in order. "I didn't exactly find anything, but I think I know someone that can help you with that."  
He told them all about how it was impossible for him to get any information here in New York and that their best chance would be to go to Utah and try and have access to any files that could tell them anything about the circumstances under which Luke had been fired or anything related to Valentine that could incriminate him in anyway, maybe some cases that they had worked together that could give them some insight into their relationship as partners. He tried to be as straight forward as possible, making some pauses to make sure that they were following him and giving them time to ask their questions.  
"And you know someone that could help us?" asked Clary, and ever since Alec had started talking, she had had a glimmer of hope in her eyes that could burn anyone alive.  
"I'm not sure. I didn't tell her anything specific because I didn't want to give her any personal information without asking first" replied Alec.  
"What did you tell her?" asked Magnus.  
"Just that it was for a friend so I wasn't keeping official paper work on it, that it was about something that happened at Salt Lake City and that it was criminal law" he summarised, and seeing that Magnus was satisfied with the answer, he continued. "She works in administrative law."  
“Is that good?” asked Simon.  
"Administrative law means she works with the law that deals with administrative agencies of government. Like the police. So yes, it’s good" he clarified.  
"What area do you work with?" asked Magnus in a more casual tone.  
"Personal injury law" he said. "Any sort of damaged that is inflicted on someone, whether it be emotional, physical or psychological and that can be blamed on someone or something like a company, that sort of thing".  
Magnus let out a small breath.  
"That must be stressful" he commented, moving in his chair to lean more towards Alec.  
"It is, especially when it involves kids. But it also feels good when you feel that you've helped someone have a better future."  
He heard a cough coming from Simon's direction and realised that they had veered wildly off course.  
"Anyway" he said, feeling the slight discomfort in the room, "my idea was to go there, talk to her and see what you can find."  
"What's her name?" asked Clary.  
"Lydia Branwell".  
"Okay, well, I'll just use some of my vacation days..." started Clary.  
"Oh no, you’re not going" cut Magnus.  
"What? Why not? This is my case!" she said.  
"Because your father lives there" deadpanned Magnus. "Your mother would kill me if she knew that I let you go."  
"My mom won't know!" she pleaded.  
"Magnus is right. You shouldn't go" said Alec, and suddenly all eyes were on him.  
"But..."  
"Look, I understand that you want to go, that you want to know more about what happened" said Alec. "But if you're trying to be lowkey about this, you can't attract too much attention. Especially if there’s the risk that you can get recognised."  
"He's a bit paranoid, isn't he?" said Simon.  
"He's right, Simon" said Magnus. "If this ends up leading somewhere, it means that we might have to deal with a dangerous man who has access to more resources than we can probably think of."  
"Well, someone has to go" said Clary.  
"We can go" suggested Magnus, looking at Alec.  
"We can? "asked Alec, surprised.  
“I mean, I can” said Magnus. “Since Lydia’s you’re friend and you’ve already helped us this far…”  
“Please, can you go, Alec?” asked Clary.  
“I don’t know, I have work to do. I can’t just leave and go to Utah” said Alec.  
"Well, I can. I have business there, so I can easily come up with an excuse” said Magnus.  
“I can go, if you want” said Simon, hesitantly, looking at Clary.  
“You know what, never mind. I’ll go. I can use some of my vacation days and, you’re right, Lydia is my friend” he said, with new found determination.  
“I have the impression this guy doesn’t really trust me much” murmured Simon to Clary.  
“I’m sure it’s not that” assured him Clary, matching his tone.  
"It's settled then" said Magnus in a louder tone, trying to move on with the conversation. "You'll talk to Lydia and we'll coordinate our calendars to try and find the best date to go. In the meantime, if any of us find anything or have any ideas, we'll be in touch."  
Alec switched numbers with Clary and Simon and they left while Alec stayed to help Magnus clean his kitchen and talk a little a bit more.  
He picked up the plates from the table while Magnus lead Simon and Clary to the door, and when he was making his way back to the kitchen, Alec putting them in the bottom shelf of the washing machine, bent at the knees. He felt Magnus' eyes on him and tried not to blush. Magnus leaned back on the counter next to Alec, his arms crossed over his chest a puzzled look on his face.  
“What?” asked Alec without being able to prevent a smile from forming.  
He got up and closed the washing machine.  
“Nothing” said Magnus, averting his gaze. “I just would have never thought that you’d look so good cleaning my kitchen”.  
Alec felt his face getting warmer, unsure of what to say.  
“Anyway” said Magnus, moving towards the living room and motioning for Alec to follow him, “we should probably talk about what dates work best for our little trip”.  
Alec followed Magnus into the living room, taking out his phone to check his calendar, glad to have something to with his hands, while Magnus was preparing a cocktail.  
“Want some?” asked Magnus, extending his arm towards Alec, a drink that he didn’t recognise in his hands.  
“No, thanks. I still have to drive” said Alec, apologetically. “I think we could do it this weekend” he said, gesturing with his phone. “I was thinking about staying for four days, so from Saturday to Tuesday. Less and we might not be able to do everything." He sighed. "If I could I'd take a week, but since I can't we'll just have to trust that Lydia we'll be able to help us from there if we need. What do you think?”  
Magnus was now on his phone as well, the other hand holding the cocktail.  
“Well, you’re the one that knows what we have to do, so whatever you say I agree” he said. “And I think those days work for me. Although I might have to get back to you on that. Things have been a little unpredictable at work” he added in a quieter voice.  
Alec looked away from his phone.  
“I thought you said everything was fine” said Alec, worry in his voice.  
“It is” said Magnus, quickly. “There have just been some changes, lately”. There was a small pause. “You know, if you want, I can take care of the hotel" suggested Magnus. "Since it's technically a business trip for me, I can have my secretary take care of that”.  
“Yeah, that’d be great” replied Alec, perfectly aware that Magnus was trying to change the subject. “Just let me know if those dates work for or not”.  
“I will”.  
Alec left a couple of minutes after that. In his car, on his way back home he thought about the dinner. He thought about Clary and her unwavering hope and how crazy the whole thing was. He thought about Simon obvious loyalty towards Clary. And he thought about Magnus and how he was willing to do anything to help others. Alec was also willing to go Utah, but this could potentially turn into a case for Alec and although he had rejected Magnus money, it could be said that he had ulterior motives. Then he thought about Utah, and how he was going on a trip across country with just Magnus. How was he going to justify that to his parents, his siblings? And how was he supposed to survive four consecutive days alone with Magnus Bane, when he had barely been able to survive this dinner?  
\----  
Magnus wasn't sure what had gone through his head. What was clear to him, was that it couldn't happen again.  
That night, when Alec left, he got himself a glass of whisky and walked around the house, trying to make sense of his feelings. He wanted Alec. That much was clear and there was no point denying it. Alec wanted him to, and unlike Magnus, he had no qualms about his feelings.  
He thought about his rule and the reason why it existed. It existed because he had been a fool and started a partnership with a girlfriend and was now stuck with her for the foreseeable future. He had been young and reckless, and although that had given him his business – of which he was immensely proud of – there was still a part of him that wished he had it under different circumstances. Of course, that was very different from the type of business relationship that he had with Alec. Besides this whole thing with Clary (and Magnus had been the one that brought Alec into it), they had almost no contact. Alec wasn't his lawyer. So other than him being the potential owner of the firm, there was almost no potential for conflict between those two areas of his life.  
Of course, he also had assumed that Alec would be... different. And by that he meant more like the rich white heir that he was used to dealing with - and when you own elitist clubs, there really is no shortage of that -, and less... different. Less compassionate, less caring. More selfish, more conceited.  
He thought about Alec, and what the whole question really boiled down to was: was it worth it? If that question had been asked to him when they were having their little moment on the balcony, is answer would be no. It wouldn't have been worth it to just lean into Alec, their lips touching tenderly, his hand resting on Alec's shoulder, moving closer to his neck a sense of flirtation still in the air. It wouldn't have been worth it to escalate things a little, a party full of people on the other side of the glass, their peering eyes and foul mouths ready to dish on the newest gossip. And it wouldn't have been worth it for them to sneak out of the party, take off in Alec’s car and get lost in each other in one of their apartments.  
But that was before. Before it would have been just a fling, an inconsequential night that could have easily led to future awkwardness. Now they were embarking on a crazy adventure in an attempt to bring justice to the world (or at least to Luke Garroway's life). They had gotten to know each other a little bit better, and if Clary was right and all of this ended up leading them somewhere, they would have to spend a lot more time together. Now, he was slowly demystifying the man, and probably without even realising it, Alec was slowly proving to Magnus how worthy he might actually be.  
During the week, they exchanged multiple texts. Apparently, Alec was the one that was having complications with going to Utah this weekend. The next day he had gotten a new case that was giving him a hard time, and so all plans were now in stand-by. Clary hadn’t been too happy about this, but she had understood that work (actual work) came first.  
He was also having a hard time at work, although not as hard as he had predicted. Camille's arrival proved itself much more peaceful than he had imagined, although still with a set of challenges. She kept mostly a professional demeanour, asking some hard questions that Magnus was ready to answer and, unfortunately, insisting on staying longer than Magnus thought necessary. But he mostly kept his opinions to himself, having no energy for a fight.  
While he wasn't working or texting Alec, he spent most of his time thinking about Luke. He hadn't talked to Clary about it, but he didn't particularly like going around people's backs and meddling with their business, even if it was for a good cause. He would obviously never tell him anything, not wanting to betray Clary's confidence and knowing pretty well that she would probably get herself into trouble without his help. But that didn't mean he couldn't talk to him, see if there was anything that had prompted Clary to start prying.  
"It's been a while since we've had lunch" said Luke.  
"I know, I've been busy" started Magnus.  
"It's okay" cut Luke. "I know you're a busy man. How's business?".  
"It's fine" he replied. "How's the book shop?"  
Luke's eyebrows shot up and he took a deep breath.  
"It's not doing so well" he said, clearly worried. "It's a local book shop and people don't go to those much these days."  
"Anything I can do to help?"  
"I've tried some stuff, but I don't think there's much to do be done. It's not completely failing or anything, but sales have been dropping later" said Luke.  
"You know that if you need anything, you can always ask" offered Magnus.  
"I know, thank you" there was silence for a moment. "But let’s not talk about it anymore. How's stuff going? Any plans for the summer? Clary and Simon talked about going to Europe, but they haven't done anything yet."  
And Magnus saw his opening to bring up the subject.  
"I don't have any plans other than work. Camille is back in New York, so I'm going to use the opportunity to visit some places that I don't normally get to visit much like something, something, Utah, ..."  
Magnus tried to say it casually but he could see Luke flinching just be hearing it.  
"You haven't been there ever since, have you?" he asked, his voice quieter.  
"No, I haven't" replied Luke, pain in his eyes.  
Magnus was already regretting bring it up.  
"I'm sorry I said anything. We'll change the subject" he said.  
"Wait. If you're going there than I want to ask you a favour" said Luke.  
"Anything."  
"While you're there, if you have time, do you mind trying to see if anyone knows anything about my sister? If you can't, it's okay" assured Luke. "It's just that we haven't seen each other ever since I left" he added.  
"Of course," said Magnus promptly. "Just tell me where to ask and I'll do it."  
"I'll send you a list of addresses. Thanks Magnus. Really".  
"Anytime" said Magnus with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! i hope you're liking the story this far. unfortunatley i don't know when i will be able to post more since i'm going on vacation next week and then classes start but i have plans for more chapters so i'm not planing on abadoning this fic. In the meantime kudos and comments are apreciated :) You can also talk to me on my tumblr [here](https://saltyaleclightwood.tumblr.com/).


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